thy servent and myself behold the day that we may stand
together and gase upon Eternal wisdom engraven upon the hevens while the
magesty of our God holdeth up the dark curtain until we may read the sound of Eternity to the
fullness and satisfaction of our immortal souls Oh Lord God deliver us in
thy due time from the little narrow prison almost as it were totel
darkness of paper pen and ink and a crooked broken scattered and imperfect
language I would inform you that I have obtained ten subscriboers for the
star and received pay20

The
subscription rate for The Evening and the Morning Star was “one
dollar for a year in advance.”
JS may have received these subscriptions on his
trip to the eastern states in October and
November 1832. (Notice, The Evening and the Morning
Star, June 1832, [8].)

their names and place of residence
as follows, John Mc.Mahhan, James Mc.Mahhan, James
White, William Brown, Henry
Kingery, Micayer Dillions,
Abraham Kingery, John A Fisher,
David Houghs, Thomas Singers,
the papers and and all to be sent to Guyandotte Post office Verginea21

Phelps reported in the November
1832 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star that “new
churches have been built up” in a variety of locations, including Guyandotte,
Virginia. (“The Gathering,”
The Evening and the Morning Star, Nov. 1832, [6].)

has not received her Papers pleas inform her
Sister Hariet that shee
is well and give my respects to her tell her that Mr,
AngelsBrother came after her and the
child soon after shee went from here all he wanted was the child22

Vienna Jacques’s
sister Harriet was married to a “Mr
Angel.” In July 1832,
Orson
Hyde and
Samuel Smith stayed with the Angels near
Providence, Rhode Island.
Although Angel was at first friendly to the missionaries, his feelings changed
when Harriet expressed her desire to take their eleven-year-old child to Zion
in Missouri.
Hyde and Smith initially counseled Harriet to stay with her husband, even
though it was clear he had abused her in the past, “but when he turned against
[the] work we concluded that if the way opened that it was best for her to go.”
This letter indicates that Harriet and her son did indeed go to Missouri.
Whether Jacques
traveled with them from New England to
Ohio is
unclear, but the information in this letter implies Jacques
may have been in Ohio in fall 1832.
Jacques
did not move to Missouri
until 1833. (Samuel Smith, Diary, 22 July and 26 Nov.
1832; see also Hyde,
Journal, 22 July 1832; and Sidney
Rigdon et al., Kirtland, OH, to “Brethren,” [Independence, MO], 2 July 1833, in
JS Letterbook 1, p. 51.)

7 July 1792–18 Jan. 1835. Born in Dublin, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire. Son of Thomas Wakefield and Elizabeth Hardy. Married first Eunice Sawyer, 13 Dec. 1812. Moved to Watertown, Jefferson Co., New York, by 1820. Baptized into LDS church and ordained an elder...

thy servent and myself behold the day that we may stand
together and gase upon Eternal wisdom engraven upon the hevens while the
magesty of our God holdeth up the dark curtain <until> we may read the sound of Eternity to the
fullness and satisfaction of our immortal souls Oh Lord God deliver us in
thy due time from the little narrow prison almost as it were totel
darkness of paper pen and ink and a crooked broken scattered and imperfect
language I would inform you that I have obtained ten subscriboers for the
star and received pay20

The
subscription rate for The Evening and the Morning Star was “one
dollar for a year in advance.”
JS may have received these subscriptions on his
trip to the eastern states in October and
November 1832. (Notice, The Evening and the Morning
Star, June 1832, [8].)

their names and place of residence
as follows, John Mc.Mahhan, James Mc.Mahhan, James
White, William Brown, Henry
Kingery, Micayer Dillions,
Abraham Kingery, John A Fisher,
David Houghs, Thomas Singers,
the papers and and all to be sent to Guy[a]ndotte the
papers are all to be sent toPost office Verginea21

Phelps reported in the November
1832 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star that “new
churches have been built up” in a variety of locations, including Guyandotte,
Virginia. (“The Gathering,”
The Evening and the Morning Star, Nov. 1832, [6].)

has not r[e]ceived her Papers pleas inform her
Sister <Hariet> that shee
is well and give my respects to her tell her that Mr,
AngelsBrother came after her and the
child soon after shee went from here all he wanted wanted was the child22

Vienna Jacques’s
sister Harriet was married to a “Mr
Angel.” In July 1832,
Orson
Hyde and
Samuel Smith stayed with the Angels near
Providence, Rhode Island.
Although Angel was at first friendly to the missionaries, his feelings changed
when Harriet expressed her desire to take their eleven-year-old child to Zion
in Missouri.
Hyde and Smith initially counseled Harriet to stay with her husband, even
though it was clear he had abused her in the past, “but when he turned against
[the] work we concluded that if the way opened that it was best for her to go.”
This letter indicates that Harriet and her son did indeed go to Missouri.
Whether Jacques
traveled with them from New England to
Ohio is
unclear, but the information in this letter implies Jacques
may have been in Ohio in fall 1832.
Jacques
did not move to Missouri
until 1833. (Samuel Smith, Diary, 22 July and 26 Nov.
1832; see also Hyde,
Journal, 22 July 1832; and Sidney
Rigdon et al., Kirtland, OH, to “Brethren,” [Independence, MO], 2 July 1833, in
JS Letterbook 1, p. 51.)

7 July 1792–18 Jan. 1835. Born in Dublin, Cheshire Co., New Hampshire. Son of Thomas Wakefield and Elizabeth Hardy. Married first Eunice Sawyer, 13 Dec. 1812. Moved to Watertown, Jefferson Co., New York, by 1820. Baptized into LDS church and ordained an elder...

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

Located in northeast region of U.S. Area settled by Dutch traders, 1620s; later governed by Britain, 1664–1776. Admitted to U.S. as state, 1788. Population in 1810 about 1,000,000; in 1820 about 1,400,000; in 1830 about 1,900,000; and in 1840 about 2,400,...

and New England,
JS answered letters he had received from “the
brethren” in Missouri

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

on
27 November 1832, may have been written in
response to an earlier letter from Phelps, but no such communication has been
located. The letter presented here reflects the continuing difficulties between
JS and leaders in Missouri. Although JS expressed consternation about some of
the leaders, he also conveyed satisfaction about Phelps’s devotion. Such praise
was in stark contrast to a 31 July letter
that chastised Phelps for his “cold and indifferent manner.”2

. JS imagined
Phelps wondering what was to be the fate of those church members who came to
Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

Generally referred to land promised by or received from God for the church and its members. A January 1831 revelation promised church members a land of inheritance. In March and May 1831, JS dictated revelations commanding members “to purchase lands for an...

The dedicating of money, lands, goods, or one’s own life for sacred purposes. Both the New Testament and Book of Mormon referred to some groups having “all things common” economically; the Book of Mormon also referred to individuals who consecrated or dedicated...

An ecclesiastical and priesthood office. JS appointed Edward Partridge as the first bishop in February 1831. Following this appointment, Partridge functioned as the local leader of the church in Missouri. Later revelations described a bishop’s duties as receiving...

Why such individuals may not have received an
inheritance is unclear from JS’s letter, but Phelps discussed this subject in
the November 1832 issue of The Evening
and the Morning Star. After noting that a total of 810 individuals had
migrated to Zion

A specific location in Missouri; also a literal or figurative gathering of believers in Jesus Christ, characterized by adherence to ideals of harmony, equality, and purity. In JS’s earliest revelations “the cause of Zion” was used to broadly describe the ...

Phelps posed
several questions, including, “Have you all fulfilled the law of the church,
which saith: Behold thou shalt consecrate all thy properties, that which thou
hast, unto me, with a covenant and deed that cannot be broken?”5

“To the Saints,” The Evening and the
Morning Star, Nov. 1832, [6].
Phelps was quoting “the Laws of the Church of
Christ,” a February 1831
revelation.
John
Whitmer brought a copy of the revelation to
Missouri
in late 1831. (Revelation, 9 Feb.
1831, in Revelation Book 1,
p. 64
[D&C 42:30].)

Revelation Book 1 / “A Book of Commandments and
Revelations of the Lord Given to Joseph the Seer and Others by the Inspiration
of God and Gift and Power of the Holy Ghost Which Beareth Re[c]ord of the
Father and Son and
Holy Ghost Which Is One God Infinite and Eternal World
without End Amen,” 1831–1835. CHL.

Apparently, at least some individuals had not followed
the commandment

Generally, a divine mandate that church members were expected to obey; more specifically, a text dictated by JS in the first-person voice of Deity that served to communicate knowledge and instruction to JS and his followers. Occasionally, other inspired texts...

,
JS highlighted the need for the church to maintain
the system of consecration in
Zion

JS revelation, dated 20 July 1831, designated Missouri as “land of promise” for gathering of Saints and place for “city of Zion,” with Independence area as “center place” of Zion. Latter-day Saint settlements elsewhere, such as in Kirtland, Ohio, became known...

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

, was to keep a “Book of the Law of God” to record the names of
those who consecrated their property and received their inheritance.
Individuals who did not comply with the consecration commandment were not to be
listed. In this way, the church could keep an orderly record of consecration
and of inheritance distributions.

Record keeping was of
great concern to
JS at this time. After sending
Oliver
Cowdery

3 Oct. 1806–3 Mar. 1850. Clerk, teacher, justice of the peace, lawyer, newspaper editor. Born at Wells, Rutland Co., Vermont. Son of William Cowdery and Rebecca Fuller. Raised Congregationalist. Moved to western New York and clerked at a store, ca. 1825–1828...

27 Aug. 1802–11 July 1878. Farmer, stock raiser, newspaper editor. Born in Pennsylvania. Son of Peter Whitmer Sr. and Mary Musselman. Member of German Reformed Church, Fayette, Seneca Co., New York. Baptized by Oliver Cowdery, June 1829, most likely in Seneca...

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

Moreover, the same day
that JS composed the November letter to
Phelps, JS purchased a record book and began his first journal “for the purpose
to keep a minute acount of all things that come under my obsevation
&c.”10

Instructing Phelps and Whitmer about keeping a “Book of the Law of God” fits
with this general pattern of maintaining records. However, if Phelps or Whitmer
kept such a record at this time, it is not extant.

Area acquired by U.S. in Louisiana Purchase, 1803, and established as territory, 1812. Missouri Compromise, 1820, admitted Missouri as slave state, 1821. Population in 1830 about 140,000; in 1836 about 240,000; and in 1840 about 380,000. Mormon missionaries...

. The letter appears in the letterbook
immediately after JS’s 1832
history, which is the first item in the book. After Phelps received the letter,
he published a portion of it in the January
1833 issue of The Evening and the Morning Star, prefacing
it by saying, “In relation to consecrating, and continuing worthy, and faithful
to the end, we make the following extract of a letter.” The extract commenced
with the words, “It is the duty of the Lord’s clerk” and ended after quoting
from Ezra 2:61–62.11

JS’s
letter referenced Ezra 2:61–62 without quoting the verses, but
Phelps reproduced the referenced verses in the
publication. This extract was later published in the 1876 edition of the
Doctrine and Covenants as section 85. (“Let Every Man Learn His Duty,”
The Evening and the Morning Star, Jan. 1833, [5];
JS, Kirtland, OH, to William W.
Phelps, [Independence, MO], 27 Nov. 1832, in
JS Letterbook 1, pp. 1–4
[D&C 85].)

Located ten miles south of Lake Erie. Settled by 1811. Organized by 1818. Population in 1830 about 55 Latter-day Saints and 1,000 others; in 1838 about 2,000 Saints and 1,200 others; in 1839 about 100 Saints and 1,500 others. Mormon missionaries visited township...

Located twelve miles from western Missouri border. Permanently settled, platted, and designated county seat, 1827. Hub for steamboat travel on Missouri River. Point of departure for Santa Fe Trail. Population in 1831 about 300. Mormon population by summer...